Don Waddell has said over the last few months that he likes his youngsters to develop in the American League as much as they can before dropping them into an NHL lineup. Right or wrong, it’s his team to make those decisions.
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Was Waddell preparing us for the inevitable “Denton Mateychuk and David Jiříček have been sent to the Cleveland Monsters to start the regular season” post by the CBJ?
Fast forward to training camp, and Waddell may have some wild decisions to make, especially on defense. Denton Mayetchuk, the young defender from Manitoba, Canada has shown that he’s not going to make this decision easy for Waddell. That’s a good thing.
Mateychuk has played three of the six preseason games, with two more to go. What has he done? He’s averaged just over 18 minutes a game on the ice, scored two goals, and is a plus-3. More importantly, though, there’s been nothing that has stood out that would warrant someone saying, “Mateychuk needs to be sent to the AHL.”
If there has been one player on the ice that has been scrutinized the most, it’s Mateychuk. Searching for reasons to send him down. Those reasons just aren’t there. Everything from his puck handling and shot-blocking to his decisions without the puck has been watched. There’s very little wrong with Mateychuk’s game right now.
Of course, people will point out that it’s just the preseason and the competition hasn’t been the best, but it’s the NHL and young players always need to be playing to the best of their ability – which he is.
What would stop Mateychuk from making the opening night roster? Overcrowding.
The Jackets have Zach Werenski, Erik Gudbanson, Damon Severson, and Ivan Provorov locked into the top 6. Good or bad, it is what it is. It’s the next three that gets murky. Jordan Harris came to Columbus in the Patrik Laine trade and is considered a good young defenseman. Jack Johnson was brought in as a veteran presence to help with the young guys. Jake Christiansen is another good young defenseman who could be a very serviceable player for years in the NHL, but probably won’t make the cut. That leaves Mateychuk and Jiříček.
That’s eight players for seven spots.
If Mateychuk and/or Jiříček were to both make the team, what happens to Jordan Harris and Jack Johnson? Personally, I’ve always thought, regardless of what happens in the preseason, that Mateychuk will start the season in the AHL, giving Jiříček the NHL minutes to start the season. The problem is that Jiříček hasn’t stood out much, while Mateychuk has. Could it be Jiříček who starts in the AHL?
Would Don Waddell give an opening night spot to the 20-year-old Mateychuk?
What do you think? Should Mateychuk be playing right away? Please share your thoughts on our forum.
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